And the War Within Begins
by Miss-evil-lil-elf
Summary: I won't even attempt because the faery on my shoulder is my muse. I don't mind, because I suck at summaries anyway. Rated due to precaution/language probably OOC though I will try to keep it as close as possible. Slight AU.
1. Chapter 1 The beginning

A.N: hey, so i've had an account here, but seeing as an issue with dormant emails, forgotten passwords, and other annoying triffles, i've been forced to create a new account. I was formally "potterstwin" and i have other uploaded fanfictions uploaded so if you have read any of my other stories (that admittedly suck, but oh well) you know these facts about me:

1. I like to add my own characters (usually a girl named "Mahalia" aka "Mia" as a knew third person. This character I've created is the twin of Harry Potter that was kidnapped at birth by a midwife under the Imperius Curse. Until the age of 14, she was held captive by the Malfoys, but the only reason she's not evil is because Draco Malfoy showed her kindness, teaching her things he learned in school and the basic morals-simply because I like Draco Malfoy =] )

2. I'm a serious HP/HG shipper. In my little fantasy world, Harry/Hermione, Ron/Luna, Ginny/Seamus ect. is always my shippers for Harry Potter fanfictions, though the first is my favorite, I will write fanfictions based off the others =]

3. I'm pretty warped in the head, but Severus Snape is not a bad guy ever in my fanfictions haha

4. I obviously would change things in the Harry Potter series...especially the last book, if I could, that is but sadly, that is stuck in my warped, demented brain and out of my hands.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my plotline. All/any characters you do not recognize, look up in the books and movies. If you do not see them anywhere, then they are of my own creation. *tear tear*

"ON WITH THE STORY ALREADY!" Alright, alright already =D

Summary: Read and find out! LOL I won't even attempt because the faery on my shoulder is my muse. I don't mind, because I suck at summaries anyway. Rated due to precaution =D probably OOC though I will try to keep it as close as possible. Slight AU. Starts out in the summer before their 5th year.

Hermione's POV

(At her house, Pre-Grimwald Place)

I can't think straight! All I can think about is how Harry almost died in that god-forsaken cemetary, and then again in the imposter-Moody's office. Plus, Voldemort is back. I can't imagine what Harry's thinking right now, after watching his deadliest enemy return from the depths of hell and watching a new ally die before his eyes. Harry's strong, but he's also sensative. I sit at my desk, quill at hand and blank parchment in front of me, and for once, I cannot fanthom what to say in a letter to him.

A quiet hoot in the night takes my attention from the worldless letter and I look up. My hopes fall as I see it's a handsome tawny-owl and not Harry's Hedwig with a letter telling me he's alright. I've not heard from him in the last week and a half I've been home, Ron either, but I never expected a letter from Ron.

As the Tawny Owl approaches, I quickly open my window wider so that he doesn't hurt himself like Errol does every single time Ginny sends me a letter. Fortunately, this owl is graceful and lands daintily on my bed-post. He gives an appreciative hoot as I untie the letter from his leg and offer him some water. After a small drink, the tawny owl is off, so I turn my attention to the letter that is obviously from Hogwarts, and I wonder what it could be. It would be too soon for scheduling or anything of that nature. I notice it is Dumbledore's handwriting, so I quickly open the letter and begin to read.

_Miss Granger,_

_ I will be visiting you this Saturday night at 10 o'clock to discuss a very important matter. I hope the timing does not inconvienience you, but it is really the only time I am available to discuss the matter. Hoping you're summer is starting off well, Stay safe._

_ Professor Dumbledore_

I read and re-read the letter and wonder what on earth the Headmaster could need to talk to me about so ergently that he come speak to me in person during the summer? It probably had to do with Harry's well-being, seeing as Ron, being who he is, probaby won't quite know how to handle things. Yes, this is probably it, I decide, and before I can think on it too much longer I place the letter next to the blank parchment on my desk , lay down, and go to sleep, my head still swimming with many questions and worries.

Harry's POV:

I lay on my bed, looking at the ceiling. My mind so full of questions, worries, memories it was swimming, yet I can't seem to think at all. I refuse to come out of my room, banishing myself. The door-flap that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia placed in my door to serve food in served it's perpose again, seeing as I won't even come out for meals. During the day, I pass the time reading my books, seeing as how the Dursleys don't even bother to hide my stuff in the broomcloset under the stairs anymore, and writing thousands of letters to my friends, Ron and Hermione, though about 85% of them I don't send out, seeing as how angry the words I write are. I'm frustrated with their silence. I'm angry at how I'm stuck here knowing I can do so much more in the wizarding world. No information whatsoever, either. I get the daily prophet every morning, but for all the good it is anymore. The Ministry of Magic is against him.

**flashback**

I'm sitting in Dumbledore's office alone with Cornilius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, himself. I told him everything. Everything, starting with how his name got put into the Goblet of Fire, ending with the near-escape of the cemetary and the near-death-experience with the fake-Moody who was really Barty Crouch Junior.

"Do you honestly expect us to believe that You-Know-Who came back to life, killed Mr. Diggory, and called most of his allies to him to _punish_ them? And the part about you fighting You-Know-Who and _winning_? And a Death Eater acting upon You-Know-Who's orders to put your name in the Goblet of Fire so he could be resserected!I mean, I don't know what Dumbledore has told you but we're not as gullible as that, Mr. Potter! You-Know-Who is NOT back!"

"I assure you, Minister, he is. And he has his full powers. Not to mention Wormtail- I mean, Peter Pettigrew- is still alive and working for him. I saw him cut off his own hand to resserect Volde-"

"DO NOT SAY THAT NAME! HE IS NOT BACK, END OF DISCUSSION!" and with that, Fudge left the headmaster's office, slamming the door behind him. Stunned at his stubborness and refusal to see the truth I don't move from my spot, when Professor Dumbledore sweeps in through the door, takes one look at my face, and shakes his head.

"Harry, do not be discouraged by his denial. It is simply fear and nothing more. Let me worry about him, hmm?"

"But sir if he doesn't see the truth...if he refuses to admit Voldemort's back, people will be in twice as much danger! What if he decides to attack people over the summer, when we students are at home? What happens if he attacks the muggle-borns? What if-"

"Relax, my dear boy. As I said before, leave Corilius to me. Hopefully he sees reason before too much time has passed and Lord Voldemort can do too much more damage,"

"Oh, I think he's done enough damage," I say bitterly. Suddenly, Dumbledore's facial expression changed from a calming understanding old man to something that resembled fear and he quickly stood up, walking around.

"What's wrong, Professor? Other than the obvious," I roll my eyes.

"Nothing, Harry, nothing at all. It is time, however, that you get yourself to bed. It will not do for you to get caught wandering the halls after hours, especially with the dangers at present," he says curtly. Still curious to know what has Dumbledore so antsy, I take my leave.

**end of flashback**

So with a bitter taste in my mouth, I try to think of anything else. Unfortunately, all the good that happened was also tied with the bad, so I give up quickly on that, knowing full well that if I don't keep my anger in check, I'm likely to use accidental magic and almost get expelled like the summer before Third Year. If it weren't for the fact that the Ministry thought Sirius was after me to kill me, I'd probably have been expelled, and seeing as how the Ministry is against me now, I don't see myself getting any favors any time soon. So I turn over onto my side and fall asleep to the muffled snores of the Dursleys'.

AN: So what did you think? I didn't want to give too much away here because the little fairy muse on my shoulder has plans for future chapters if they are desired. Next chapter will involve the Weasleys and Dumbledore, and possibly even Sirius/Snape! You never know what the little fairy will come up with *grin*

Read and Review please and thank you!


	2. Chapter 2 Dumbledore's visits

AN: So this is the next chapter, and as promised, there will be other people introduced. Oh, just so you know, this faery muse of mine decided to take it a little farther AU then I had once anticipated, but oh well...hope you enjoy!

Pawsrule: Thanks! =D and since so far you are the only one who's reviewed, I shall dedicate this chapter to you. This is my thank you for your review, seeing as I cannot give you a cupcake through fanfiction =P

Yes, yes, I know. enough with the jabber and get on with the story!

Disclaimer: I shall say it once more, I own no part of Harry Potter, book or movie. If you see something/someone you do not recognize, then yes, that along with the plot is mine, purely for your entertainment and my enjoyment of writing!

Hermione's POV:

Saturday night, I sit in my father's recliner, trying to relax. I had _Hogwarts, A History_ on the side table next to me, but gave that up as a distraction long ago, after I sat staring at the same paragraph for twenty minutes without knowing what I read. I look to the clock 9:47 pm. I sigh with impatience and stare at the fire in front of me. I chose my spot carefully as to not look ignorant and taken by suprise when Professor Dumbledore showed up. He hadn't specified how he would be arriving, so I didn't know to expect him at my front door or by floo powder. Though this irritated me greatly, I decided whatever Dumbledore had to say to me was important enough to call me out over the summer so it was important for me to keep all complaints to myself and listen.

Letting my eyes wander, I finally focus on the rain-splattered window on the far left side of the livingroom and allowed myself to once again, think on what has happened in the past school year. Harry was thrown into a horrible trap that would have ultimately led him to his doom, once again. Ron and Harry had gotten into a major fight that lasted for months, finally resulting in a brotherly hug and leaving me thoroughly confused in the ways of boys, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back and at large, but keeping a low profile. The entire Wizarding World is divided as half of the wizarding population believes in Harry and the other half decided they would rather believe the dangerous lies in the Daily Prophet (of which I had nearly cancelled my subscriptioin because of the lies, but decided it would be more useful knowing exactly what was being said), and those were just the obvious things. The personal battle was a secret known only to me. Do I tell Harry what I had been dying to tell him since year one when he saved me from the troll with Ron or would he just be put off by that admission and I would lose my best friend? Admit to love and possibly lose the object of that love or keep it silent and keep an amazing friend while never moving foward and risk him falling in love with another girl?

My thoughts were interrupted however by a knock at the door. I stand up and answer the door, expecting Professor Dumbledore, only to reveal our neighbor wanting to complain about Crookshanks making a mess of her trashcans by the curb. I tell her that it was the racoons, but I promised I'd keep him indoors from now on and with a huff, she walked off. I turned around to go sit back in my father's recliner, only to be shocked to see an elderly wizard in midnight blue robes, a long white beard with matching white hair and half-moon specticals upon a crooked nose sitting there already. However, the sparkle that was usually in his eyes, was absent, a look of a tired old man filling the void.

"Hello, Miss Granger. I'd have made my presence known, but you were otherwise preoccupied by your visiter," The old wizard said with a half smile.

"Hello Professor Dumbledore. Sorry about our neighbor. I wasn't expecting her, I swear," I explain.

"No need, no need, dear child. But we have much to discuss, I'm afraid," Dumbledore said, his half smile falling just a bit. I sit on the couch opposite him and wait for him to begin.

"Miss Granger, as you are aware, Lord Voldemort has, indeed, returned, and unfortunately the Daily Prophet," he holds up my copy I had gotten this morning, "has not, of yet, acknowledged it. I suspect the Minister has been prohibiting it, of no fault of his own except fear," he shakes his head sadly, "However, I hope that we can still get the warning out despite this setback. You well know that knowledge is the most powerful weapon, do you not?"

"Of course, sir. I just hope that most people do not believe the rubbish the Prophet is saying about you and Harry-"

"Ah, yes, Harry. Miss Granger, I'm afraid that this year I may have to distance myself from him, for reasons that shall only be known to me. I also must ask you, do not tell Harry anything in a letter. You may very well see him before school, and I know that even though he must be desperate for news, we must be very careful that we do not let anything slipped. Owls are being intercepted, Miss Granger. Seeing as Harry's letters are most likely to be intercepted, as well as mine, we must be careful not to give any information to unwanted hands. Ministry interceptions are not horrible, but should information be given to dangerous hands...well I believe you understand where I am going with this. Harry and I are the faces of this so-called," he picks up the paper and begins to read aloud, "conspiracy of a washed-up fool and a boy-who-lies to over-throw the Ministry of Magic.' and even though we know that's not true, it does not mean Voldemort will neglect to use this to his advantage. But, now, we have another topic of matter to discuss...I need your help with something, Miss Granger, and I trust no one but you with this task."

"What is it, Sir? And why am I the only one that can be trusted with it?" I'm curious and I lean foward in anticipation. He chuckles at my impatience and intrigue.

"Harry met someone in that graveyard that night, Miss Granger. Someone other than Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Someone that is just as much a victim in this as he is. She has been held captive by the Malfoy's and has been raised by Voldemort's own law, by way of the diary that was re-discovered in your second year, do you remember? Ah yes, well I have sent a young graduate, Mr. Wood, to liberate her from her prison. I do not know how much she knows of the wizarding world outside of her prison, if she knows any magic, manners, or morals at all. She has been captive for nearly fifteen years, Miss Granger. You can read about her," he pulls out a book from inside his robes, "in here. Of course this is only her legend and I have never met the poor child. I have bookmarked the beginning of her tale for your convinience. I leave you the task, should you choose to accept it, of finding out what her levels are and who she is as a person. Be wary, of course. You are the brightest witch of your age, Miss Granger. I kow you can succeed in this task when no one else can."

"What is her name. What is the name of the girl I will be tutoring?" I ask quietly, just barely above a whisper.

"Mahalia. Mahalia Potter, but I hear she likes to go by Mia. Yes, Miss Granger. She is Harry's twin, and no, Harry has no idea about her at all. Can I also leave that task up to you?" my jaw is still dropped, but I dumbly nod, "good. I have to leave now, Miss Granger, but I encourage you to read up on her in this book, but please try to be open and non-judmental to her. This is a very delicate situation. The book is also a port-key. It shall transport you to where the Weasley's are staying and where answers to most of your many questions are held. Please, once again I implore you to be careful of what you say in your letters to Harry. Remember, he is in a delicate situation as well. The port-key is set for Monday at exactly 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Please do not miss it," and with that, he pulled out his wand, and he was gone with a "POP!"

Mrs. Weasley's POV:

Knitting in my favorite rocking chair, I think about the time that is before us, and shudder to think of the consequences ahead. It's not as if the old Order of the Pheonix didn't already guess, even though we all hoped that it wouldn't be true. Back then, we were the young ones, ready to fight. Now we are the older ones, wary, wise, and cautious. And poor Harry! Look at what he's been through, and not quite 15 years old! My Ronald was good to choose to be friends with Harry, and I do not regret it one bit, even though I know it means my youngest son will be in danger more so than the rest. And Ginny! The poor girl was ditsy enough to fall head over heals over him! She admitted to me just last summer that it was a simple infatuation and she was over it, but in doing so, she'd become close friends with the young Golden Trio made up of Ronald, Harry, and Hermione.

I glance down at the letter I'd recieved that morning from Dumbledore. He'd be here very soon, apparently but would not get to stay long. I'd already packed him a goody-bag for if he could only stay a minute. I re-read it again to myself:

_Molly Weasley,_

_ Please do me the great favor in allowing me to stop by after ten o'thirty tonight. It is of great importance and I must speak to you directly. I shall not take much of your time, I promise you. I cannot say more in this letter, so I shall explain everything to you when I stop by tonight. If it is impossible to meet you at your home, then please send a note explaining where I may reach you, as it really cannot wait. Thank you so much._

_ Professor Dumbledore_

I glance at the clock, once again forgetting it tells not of the time, but the locations of my beloved family, and I shake my head and chuckle to myself at my own foolishness. Glancing at the clock that does tell time, I see Dumbledore is to arrive any minute. Just as I lay down my knitting, a familiar "Pop" alerts me of his presence at the door, followed by a quiet knocking. As I answer the door, I smile an apologetic smile. He answers with one of his own and his reply.

"I found you and Arther trying to hide from me in the bathroom where a ghost by the name of 'Moaning Myrtle' ratted you out because you and Arthur decided to hide in her exact cubicle," yes, definitely Dumbledore.

"And the first thing Arthur replied with was 'So, you have found us, once again!'" I giggle at the memory. Because Arthur had made him laugh, we had gotten off detention free that night, with promises that we would never do it again, even though he caught us the following week hiding behind a Suit of Armour.

"Ahh, Molly, the times you and Arthur got caught, it's no wonder why your twins have become such trouble-makers," he chuckled.

"Well, yes, I suppose so," I laugh, but remembering the reason he was here was urgent and obviously not to remember shared memories, "so what was so important? You know you are always welcome here, but your note sounded urgent."

"Ahh, well yes it is. It has happened. Fifteen years ago, Molly, a midwife was placed under the Imperius Curse for a specific reason. Do you remember, Molly? Your sister's midwife, to be exact."

"You don't mean to say...they've found her? No, that cannot be! That little girl that Lilly gave birth to went to You-Know-Who himself! There is no way that child survived!"

"Ah, but she did, Molly, and she was being held captives by the Malfoys. I've sent Mr. Oliver Wood to retrieve her with a plan to do it, and they return tonight. I have set Miss Granger with the task of trying to help ease the young girl into a regular life."

"But Dumbledore! You know what they said! Is she fit to ease into society? Did he succeed in turning her evil, do you suppose?" my head is full of questions, all spinning and I must sit down or pass out from the shock. Lilly was my step-sister and not many people knew of it, and when she wrote to me that she was pregnant with twins, everyone was filled with joy. Then the prophecy came and Lilly knew she had to go into hiding. The prophecy was unclear about Harry's involvment because it could also have fit the young Longbottom's son as well, but Mahalia's was crystal clear.

"Ah, I'm afraid there is no way of knowing until we meet her. I shall leave it up to you whether you introduce yourself as her aunt or her twin brother's best friends' mom. All I hope is that you do not prejudge this child. We do not know if Voldemort had succeeded with her or how much damage has been done. We can only hope for the best."

"I cannot possibly claim to be their aunt when Harry doesn't even know of it, but I will surely not prejudge the girl. You were right, that was news that could not have been written in a letter!" I try to make light of the grave forboding mood.

"Well, I have another question. I have given Miss Granger a port key that will bring her here in two days time. I am hoping that you will allow her in and take her to Headquarters. I'm sure she can be of use there, making the place more presentable, and filling the house so that Dear Sirius does not lose his head with bordom. Not to mention it would be exponentially safer for her, especially since she and Mr. Potter are so close. If this inconvieniences you, however, I can make other-"

"No sir. I wouldn't want it any other way. Of course she can come here and we will be sure to take her safely to Headquaters," I say quickly. I realize I had cut him off and I blush, embarrassed by my rude behavior, but he smiles at me, letting me know that he took no offense in it.

"Good. I know I can always count on you and your family. You are good people, Molly. We will try to keep little Mia's return quietly for now. The Prophet would keep her quiet, which is a good and bad thing. It would help prove of Voldemort's return to power, yes, but it would also alert to her where abouts before the school year begins, unfortunately. Hopefully by then, we will know enough about this young girl to decide how next to proceed. Now, I must go, I have a few more stops to make before I am finished with my rounds tonight. Goodnight, Molly," he says to me, and steps to the door. I stop him to hand him his goody-bag, which he takes good-naturedly, bowed his head farewell, and disappeared into the night. I hear a "pop" and I know he is gone, leaving me to my thoughts. There was only one thing I was positive of at the moment; I was not going to get much sleep tonight, if any at all.

AN: Alright, there you have it, the second chapter =) I hope you enjoyed it. I figured everyone uses Harry's POV and others like that, but I felt I should mention the others in Professor Dumbledore's conversation with Mrs. Weasley =) updates will go up as quickly as the fairy on my shoulder can "muse it up!" but I must listen to the little Goblin on my other shoulder who controls the uploading process, and they both feed on reviews =D so if you want more chapters, review with your ideas...and please, if you're going to critisize, make it costructive please!

Pawsrule: here's to you...hope you weren't disappointed in how the chapter turned out =S ... let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3 The truth slips

AN: Here's the next chapter. I had no idea that I'd be updating daily, but since Pawsrule asked so nicely =). Okay, so here's the thing, I'm not gonna change the fact that Harry goes to the park and gets attacked by dementors (I'm going with the movie version here) the only thing I'm adding is that when Harry was being attacked, his thought that brought his Patronus was of Hermione. I'm going to skip foward to when Harry is picked up by the Order, if that is acceptable, because, in all honesty, I'm not going to change anything on it, and really am not going to take the time to write all that part out.

Pawsrule: alright, seriously it seems that you are the only one reading this story, so to heck with it, I'll just dedicate the story to you in all in it's entirety :) Thanks for being so helpful, and I promise I will watch myself when I write about the OC so to be sure she does not over-shadow the original (and absolutely fantastic) characters :) Please continue to read and review

Disclaimer: Seriously, if I owned the world of Harry Potter, the current 7th book would not exist the way it does now. Harry would ALWAYS be with Hermione, Ron with Luna, ect. Oh, and Dobby would be the King of the House Elves! :D

AN: Warning: the fairy muse has a wicked little grin on her face, so not sure what's going to happen. Believe me when I say, I'll probably be as suprised as you, haha.

"ON WITH THE STORY!" -okay, please no tomato throwing! HAHAHA So this is When Hermione leaves for the Burrow...ENJOY!

Hermione's POV:

The clock on the wall states that it is now 3:55 pm. I sigh in anticipation, wishing that it were 4 o'clock already. Not that I particularly enjoy traveling by port-key, but it means that I'll be able to do _something_ constructive. I've written Harry twelve letters, sending out two, both frustrated that I couldn't say more. I'm hoping he doesn't hate me too much when I see him, but I really don't have any choice. I pick up the book-portkey and once again start to glance through it, seeing as I've already said my goodbyes to my parents and they were already at work at the office. I wonder what this girl will be like and how much of a challenge she will be. Dumbledore instructed me to be open-minded and cautious. From what I've read, definitely going to be cautious. This girl was raised under the rule of the most evil of wizards of our time, followed out by his most loyal deatheaters that were available. It was said that she was to be his secret weapon, and raised that way to merciously put others in agony and finally then kill her prey, just as You-Know-Who himself would do. She was supposed to be his prodigy, only worse. Scared? Of course, but no way am I going to let Dumbledore down and not try to help Harry's only sister, especially his twin! I am determined to see this through. I will succeed!

I look at the clock again and now I have only one minute to wait. I hold on to the book, not daring to chance missing it. The last thing that I think of before the unforgettable sensation of being dragged by the belly-button sweeps me off of my feet is of Harry and how he might react when I tell him that he has a twin, and hoping he views it as a good thing.

Next thing I know, I'm standing in front of the Burrow, quite disoriented, but altogether alright, and Mrs. Weasley is waiting for me at the door, yelling at Ron to come gather my school trunk and up to Ginny's room. She smiles at me, apologetically at my dizziness and leads me into the house. When Ron finally submerges from what looks like napping on the couch with a plate of pastry cakes as a pillow, face first, he grabs my trunk and drags it to the stairs, complaining loudly, making me roll my eyes and smile at Mrs. Weasley, who returns it with another apologetic smile.

I'm not even there fifteen minutes before Mrs. Weasley is already offering me food, complaining that I'm too skinny for my own health, and I decline, saying I would rather wait for dinner and excuse myself to escape to Ginny's room, and I reach the door that says 'All ye brothers beware' and underneath, the incantation written for the bat-bogey hex to remind them that she was not only their little sister, but a force to be reckoned with. I have known all too well that every brother has obeyed the sign, seeing it first hand. I knock two times and cautiously open the door.

Ginny is already sitting on the cot made up for me, back against the wall leg propped up on the folded blankets at the bottom. She knows I'm picky when it comes to making the bed I sleep in, so she always simply sets the cot up and lays folded linen at the bottom, letting my OCD ways have at it than rather doing all the work just to have me redo it. She looks up at me and smiles, tossing the Witch Weekly magazine she was reading to the side and sits up.

"Hey roomie!" she grins, which I return, "I'd stay away from Ron at the moment, Mum pulled him away from his lemon pastry snack time to bring up your trunk. He's pretty annoyed."

"Warning taken. Yeah, I'm not about to go around Ron after that. I'd have done it myself, but traveling by port-key makes me dizzy. It was your mum's idea anyway. Hope he gets over it soon," I laugh. My mood has gotten a little better and the dizzy spell has subsided a little already. Ginny's my best girl friend.

"Yeah, best to wait a few hours. Well, at least we can have a little girl time! What shall we 'gossip' about?" she jokes. We always joke that we're not the conventional girly-girl type of friends.

"Well, how about I just tell you about Dumbledore's visit to me a couple of nights ago? Major update! Headline? I'm supposed to work with this girl who is theoretically like this," I hand her the book, open to the girl's chapter, "and I have to tell Harry about it."

"Why would you have to tell- Oh Merlin's Beard!" Ginny gasps as she looked at the title containing the girls name, "who is she?"

"Harry's twin sister, apparently. Go on, read it! Her entire story is in there," I urge the shocked red-head sitting in front of me.

It takes her a little more than five minutes than me to read the chapter on the mysterious girl, but when she's finished, she hands the book back to me, mouth open and speechless.

"Dumbledore wants me to help ease her into regular life and help her catch up to us in school. I have to find out what she already knows and her talents and things she needs to work on. I also don't have a clue on how I'm supposed to tell Harry about this. And it has to be in person. Dumbledore's orders. We're not supposed to tell him ANYTHING in the letters we send to him."

"Sounds like _two_ things that you have no idea how you're going to tell him about," she giggles. Ginny's the only person in the world that knows how much I love Harry. She was actually the one who pointed it out to me in the summer before third year. I roll my eyes and throw a pillow at her.

"Ginny! How can you even think like that when this is as serious as it is!"

"Oh, like _you_ weren't!" I don't answer, because she's right. People think _I'm_ the know-it-all, but I'm still kind of socially inept, while Ginny is the opposite. She's socially foward and aggressive and though she's smart, she admits that she's only as book smart as she is because she tries really hard. She looks up to Bill a lot, but she knows how to read people like I know how to read a book. It just comes naturally.

"So when _are_ you going to tell him," she asks, eyebrows raised.

"Well, I figured as soon as possible. Keeping something like having a twin sister from him is not exactly something he's going to take lightly. It's not as if he grew up like we did. I mean, I may not have had siblings, but I had parents, and you have both, lucky!"

"Well, good, but I kinda meant the part about you being madly in love with him," she smirks. I only throw another pillow at her and laugh, feeling my face get all hot.

"I don't know about that one. Don't you think Harry's got enough to deal with at the moment? And what if he doesn't feel the same? I don't want to lose him as a friend too!" my heart breaks just thinking of the possibility.

"And what if he does? What if he does feel the same about you, but you're too chicken to say something! Then _both_ of you suffer from what you each think is unrequited love! Are you willing to pass up an opportunity of love and happiness? Since when has Harry ever hated you? Since when would he _ever_ stop being your friend? Just do it, for Bloody Merlin's sake!"

"Oh, and how do you suppose I do that? Hmm? How do I tell him?"

"Well, don't go being a love-sick fan girl of his, I know that!" she laughs and after a moment of thinking, adds, "Just pull him in a closet and jump his bones! There's no mistaking _that!_" she laughs even harder seeing my facial reaction. Just then, Mrs. Weasley calls everyone downstairs. Saved again! As I opened the door, I hear an "oomph!" and whoever is at the door, falls. I open it up wider to see Ron, face as red as his hair, lying on the floor, rubbing his head and looking at me with an expression that I cannot seem to place.

Ron's POV:

_"...good, but I kinda meant the part about you being madly in love with him," she smirks. I only throw another pillow at her and laugh, feeling my face get all hot. _

I pause on my way downstairs to the kitchen, I hear Giny's voice from on the otherside of the door. I press my ear closer to the door, hoping that Ginny was talking about Hermione being in love with me.

_"I don't know about that one. Don't you think Harry's got enough to deal with at the moment? And what if he doesn't feel the same? I don't want to lose him as a friend too!" my heart breaks just thinking of the possibility._

Damn! I can feel my face getting hotter. Harry gets everything! The fame, the fortune, the girl! What am I? The comic relief? The clown? Second best? Or worse, the pathetic friend that people take pity on!

_"And what if he does? What if he does feel the same about you, but you're too chicken to say something! Then both of you suffer from what you each think is unrequited love! Are you willing to pass up an opportunity of love and happiness? Since when has Harry ever hated you? Since when would he ever stop being your friend? Just do it, for Bloody Merlin's sake!"_

_"Oh, and how do you suppose I do that? Hmm? How do I tell him?"_

_"Well, don't go being a love-sick fan girl of his, I know that!" she laughs and after a moment of thinking, adds, "Just pull him in a closet and jump his bones! There's no mistaking that!"_

Just then, Mum calls everyone downstairs and before I can back up, Ginny's door tries to swing open, knocking me down to reveal a suprised Hermione. I don't know how to feel. Hatred? Disappointment? Fury? Sadness? There's no denying I heard everything.

"Ron! How long have you been eavesdropping?" Hermione says, a worried look clouding her beautiful features, offering a hand to help me up.

"Long enough," I say, getting up, ignoring her offer.

"Long enough for what?" She presses, crossing her arms.

"Long enough to know you're in love with Harry," I say, trying to keep my voice expressionless. Usually I have a hard time keeping my emotions under control, but it apparently gets easier when you don't know how you feel about something and can't pinpoint if it's a good thing or bad thing. On one hand, I was jealous. Of what, exactly? I couldn't be positive, but jealous all the same. On the other hand, these were my two best friends...I should be happy for her and helping her, hoping for the best for them both.

"...Ron-"

"No, Hermione. Let me sort things out and we'll talk about it later," I cut her off. I try to remind myself that I can't take something out on her when I'm not even sure if I have a right to be angry. I can see that Ginny is looking at me with pure shock. Nobody else but her knows that Mum's been talking to me, trying to get me to think before I act. I do try, really I do. Still, a small amount of bitterness leaks into my voice and I can see she's hurt, so I being to walk away before I can hurt her further.

People tend to think i'm uncaring, selfish, and oblivious to things around me. This is true, up to a point. I just like to mind my own business is all, so I never try to keep up with stuff like this. But this time, this time is different. Hermione is supposed to be with ME. She is supposed to be MY girl. I love Harry like a brother, truely, I do, but I can't help but be half bitter, half glad that he's not standing near me. I don't need the drama.

On the other hand, Harry's my best mate. I understand that it's not his fault that everything good comes to him. Okay, so a lot of bad things happens to him too, but he's not exactly suffering right now, is he? Okay, so he is. Oy, my head hurts now. So many conflicting thoughts are circling my head!

I reach the kitchen with Ginny and a worried Hermione close behind. They think I'm going to explode, but no. If I'm going to explode, it's going to be after I decide that I have a real reason to be angry. And if Hermione tells Harry she loves him and he and she get together. Oh, I don't know! I guess right now, they're safe. I have food on the table and I'm still in shock. I make no promises for when Harry gets here, but for now it's all good.

Especially since Mum made my favorite!

AN: Alright, three chapters in three days. WOOO! I'm on a roll! hope I didn't disappoint with this chapter... I didn't want Ron to flip out quite just yet, if he's going to, that is. Hey, a little suspense is good for the soul! (The fairy on my shoulder told me so!) Well, hope you enjoy. I need your input. I may even let you decide on if Ron blows up or not so leave your input!

Read and review, please and thank you! (because the fairy and the goblin feed off of them and when they're happy, they play nice, which equals more chapters for you to enjoy!)


	4. Chapter 4 Hermione's Fear

AN: My apologies for a slacking of the updating. I've had to be at work and I got hooked into a couple of other Fanfics that are honestly, amazing. Not to mention the infamous writers block, or in my case, indecision. It sucks having so many ideas in my head and not being able to decide how I should go about this. Oh well. I promise to keep updating! (Even if at the moment, I have only one reviewer, but I'm not complaining too much. Thank you again, Pawsrule! The story is still dedicated to you! =D But you know that this means you'll have to give me ideas, right? =D Just saying ;)

Disclaimer: *facepalm* Oh why must I keep reminding myself of the painful truth? Fine, I admit once more, I OWN NOTHING BUT THE PLOT! Oh, and of course, the characters I may add now or in the future that you do not recognize.

Yeah, yeah, I know, On with the story! Put those tomatoes away and leave cupcakes and reviews for the faery and goblin on my shoulders. The Faery magically makes the words appear on the screen while the Goblin magically uploads and publishes for your enjoyment, so they deserve them :)

(AN: Time jump here...this is right when Hermione finds out about Harry's Dementor attack- just thought I'd let you know to limit on confusion)

Hermione's POV:

We've been at Grimwald Place for a while now, cleaning the place and getting rid of dangerous artifacts. Between that and stepping on eggshells around Ron, I was so incredibly tired. I was so worried about upsetting Ron even more, worried about Harry in general, stressed about causing so much drama and hoping that I hadn't rined Ron and Harry's friendship even more than I was worried about Ron and I's friendship. I keep getting even more stressed out because I can't even tell Harry anything. I can tell by each of his letters he sends me he's getting more and more agitated. Even Sirius is worried about him doing something rash, so he urged Harry in _his _letter to him to keep his nose clean.

So far talking to Sirius is the only think keeping me sane. He's the only one I can talk to here at the moment. And Ginny, of course, but I always feel awkward talking to her about my feelings for Harry, even though I know she's absolutely cool with it and is completely over him. I guess it's odd for me talking to her about this now because I feel like I'm making her choose between Ron and myself, which is completely unfair, even though that's not my goal whatsoever.

Sitting on my bed, I continue to think in silence on once again meeting the strange girl I'm supposed to be helping and how to tell Harry about her. This of course, gets my head spinning in circles about _all_ the things I have to tell Harry and I feel myself getting sicker as that reminds me of all the pressure I'm under. As I get up to run to the bathroom, just in case, mind you, I suddenly hear the portrait of Mrs. Black wailing of mudbloods and blood traitors alike and the knot in my stomach doesn't loosen, but moves to the back of my mind as a temporary distraction grabs my attention.

As I open the door to the room that Ginny and I share here, I see Fred and George standing at the top of the stairs with their latest invention, named ear-extendables or something or other, at hand with pained expressions. Apparently their plan of eavesdropping on the latest Order meeting backfired when their ear drums got nearly blasted away by Mrs. Black's wailing and Sirius's yelling at her to shut her mouth. I walk up to them with a smirk on my face.

"Save it, Hermione," George starts.

"You never seem to complain when we get our hands on real information, now do you?" Fred finishes. To that, I had no reply, so I change the subject.

"Have any idea-" I begin.

"-About what's going on?" Fred starts.

"We might know a little something," George finishes, with Fred's identical smirk.

"But since a certain young witch-"

"-is opposed to eavesdropping-"

"-we wouldn't want to go corrupting-"

"-her 'bright young mind and morals' because,"

"-that would be wrong, now wouldn't it?" they say the last part together, making my eyes roll.

"Just tell me!" I say, getting frustrated at the pair.

"Well, why don't you just-" this time George starts.

"-Go downstairs and see? Because-"

"-Unfortunately we know-"

"-Nothing except that it has to do with-"

"Harry," they say together.

At this knowledge, I run passed them down the stairs to find out what's going on. I don't stop until I see Sirius with a worried look on his face and I know it's bad. It takes me a moment to find my voice, and even when I do, it's a small squeek. Thankfully Sirius starts talking to me quietly before I can get a word out so as not to again disturb the now-quiet-portrait of Mrs. Black.

"Hermione, you should know about what we've just heard. Harry was attacked by two dementors near his home. He is being charged with underage wizardry as of now. We've contacted Dumbledore because they've also expelled him, but Dumbledore is now at the Ministry straightening that part out. He can't be expelled by the Ministry, and Dumbledorehas no intentions of expelling him. This is serious though. He'll have to attend a hearing. He may get into serious trouble. He did a patronus charm in front of his muggle cousin. Underage magic _and_ magic exposure," Sirius looks strained. I can tell he wants to do more for Harry, but unfortunately, he's seeing his home as a prison of it's own.

"But Harry didn't have a choice, did he? It was life-threatening! Plus his cousin was already exposed to magic anyhow! They cannot hold it against him for having no choice, I'm sure of it! Is Harry alright? When is he coming here? Sirius! This is serious!" I have found my voice again, "I'm going to go search every book in the library to find out if he can really be charged. What is everyone else doing?" I say stubbornly.

"Arthur is writing a letter to Harry to tell him to keep in the house as we speak. I think he's also telling Harry to ignore the expulsion and to not give his wand up, but Molly is fretting, I'm afraid. Please do go look through the books. I'll help you," He sounds worried, but determined. He didn't finally gain his godson until Harry's third year and he had to break out of Azkaban for him. He wasn't about to lose Harry to Azkaban again, even if it was opposite this time. So Sirius and I walk to the library here and I can't help but think that even though it's considerably smaller than Hogwarts' library, it's still a decent size. Plus it has some books that Hogwarts' library would _never_ carry, probably not even in the restricted section.

Book after book on Wizard Law and each and every one of them stated that underage wizards are allowed to do magic outside of school if and only if they were in immediate danger. I couldn't find any entries in them of where the underage wizard was forced to do magic infront of a muggle, though, even though all of Harry's relatives he lived with had already been exposed to magic. I searched frantically until I finally found one, jumping up in delight and squeeking excitedly, I pointed it out to Sirius who finally let out a sigh of relief, followed by a grin, and we both let out a deep breath that we were theoretically holding.

"You know, Hermione, nobody will believe that there were _dementors_ in Little Winging, right?" He says, being the kill-joy. However, I had already thought of that.

"Well, who knows what will happen? All we can do is leave these entries for Professor Dumbledore to look over and hope that somebody will believe Harry at his Hearing. They cannot _all_ be complete idiots. It doesn't matter if they don't believe him that Vol-Vol- You-Know-Who's back, at least for now. What matters now is that Harry can stay safe," I say stubbornly.

"Worried about the man you love, eh?" Sirius winks. My jaw drops, "What? You're not exactly subtle about it, Hermione. I'm actually astounded Harry hasn't pieced it all together yet. Then again, he has been a bit pre-occupied lately, what with the Tri-Wizard Tournament and battling both the darkest wizard of our age _and_ the Minister of Magic's stupidity. And because of the second part, Harry's forced to deal with nearly the entire wizarding world," Harry's godfather says to me, his features darkening at the end.

"I didn't realize I was that obvious," I say, honestly.

"Well, lets put it this way. If your goal is to hide it from Harry, you're succeeding. If your goal is to hide it from _everybody_ I'm sorry, but the brightest witch of your age is actually failing at something," Sirius winks at me. I feel myself blushing and decide to change the subject.

"Can I see the letter? The one that told you what happened to Harry?"

"I don't see why not, follow me to the kitchen. I'm sure it's still there. The meeting is over now anyway," He says, thinking it over. So I follow him down the stairs and through the kitchen door, being certain that I wasn't interrupting anything. Now it was just Mrs. Weasley at the stove, stress-cooking, Mr. Weasley sitting at the table stirring his tea, and Remus and Tonks, whispering quietly to one another. When I walked in behind Sirius, they all returned my small smile and Sirius hands me a peice of parchment.

_Mr. Potter has been attacked. He is alright, but he had to use magic to save himself and his muggle cousin. Dementors. 2 of them. I repeat, Mr. Potter is alright. man-fletch was no help. He disappeared before it happened. Maybe Mr. Potter wouldn't have had to use magic had he not skipped out on his watch, because of course I'm no help. Please inform Prof.D. Squib-fig._

I didn't notice how badly my hands were shaking until after Sirius took the letter from me and lead me to the nearest chair. Mrs. Weasley, the kind soul, put a cup of hot tea in front of me, hoping that might help. I couldn't even wonder if she knew why this was affecting me this badly. All I could do was see Harry's face, pale, staring at me with soul-less eyes, unblinking. After what seemed like forever, I looked up to see Mr. Weasley's worried eyes, and I knew he knew how I felt about Harry.

"Don't worry, Hermione. Dumbledore will be Harry's defense. Harry won't go to Azkaban and he won't be expelled from school. Harry had no choice. The only thing that worries me is what on _earth_ were two dementors doing _there!_ And what are the odds that the wizard they encounter would be _Harry!_" He says to me, then grimly adds to Sirius, "He has stronger bonds with dementors than we originally thought," shaking his head, answering the question I cannot bring myself to ask.

"Well, I dont know what to do. The _Prophet_ has been completely against Harry and Dumbledore, thanks to Fudge, no doubt, I don't know what there is left to do!" Sirius is frustrated, moreso than the rest, I assume, because he's stuck here day after day. I'm not suprised he's getting cabin fever. I don't think he expected to be in a stuck in here like a prison after escaping from prison. Thankfully Mr. Weasley knew how to react.

"Sirius, please! You _are_ doing everything you can. I mean, look, now the Order has a secure headquarters that we never had before, automatically having an advantage. If you were to try to do more, it would mean going outside and exposing yourself, and doing that _isn't_ going to help anyone, especially Harry. Harry's going to need you, and you can't be there for him if you're locked up in Azkaban," Mr. Weasley said quietly.

"But, that might help Harry in the long run though," Sirius said quietly to himself. Since I'm sitting right next to him, I can hear every word, and I'm not liking where this is going, "If I'm caught, the Ministry will be forced to see that Voldemort is back. They won't have a scape goat to blame everything on, which will only lead to the only pos-"

"Don't even go there, Sirius. If you're caught, Harry won't have you around at all. If you're caught, you can't help anyone and you'll have even less freedom than now, because you won't just be going back to Azkaban. You'll be going back to Azkaban _soul-less!_ Yes, that's right. Harry and I's entire plan Third Year will have been for nothing. We will have just helped Wormtail scamper back to his master for nothing! Besides, even if you're caught, they will just simply find another scape goat. There is no winning side for your being caught. It's not what Harry wants, and it's not what you're true friends wanted either. You need to stay out of trouble and out of sight to the Ministry. You're all the family Harry has left now, Sirius. This, right here," I say, holding up the letter, "proves it. Harry's going through some tough times right now, and he needs you. He needs all of us," I got through to him because he looks at his hands in his lap then suddenly gets up and leaves the room, most likely to see Buckbeak. He once told me the reason he visits Buckbeak when he's upset is because he knows that there _is _one other being in Grimwald place that hates being cooped up more than he, and it is the Hippogriff, longing for the skies and trees alike.

Ginny's POV:

I was sitting in Ron's room, trying to talk sense into him about Hermione and Harry when we heard Mrs. Black's wails from downstairs. When we poked our heads out of the doorway, we saw Fred and George talking with a frustrated Hermione who after a moment, ran by them down the stairs. When she was gone, I could finally drag Ron out of the room to find out what was going on. Unfortunately, the twins had unblievably came up empty.

"Sorry, sis, we've got nothing!" Fred said, with a slight frown.

"But when Hermione gets back, I'm sure she'll have plenty of information for us all," George adds, his face mimicking his twin. Unfortunately, Hermione's name being mentioned made Ron's face look as though he had sucked on a lemon and immediately afterwards touched his tounge to a charged "D" battery. I knew he wasn't going to say anything, so I did.

"Have you any idea what it could even be about? Surely you must have _some_ idea," I probe.

"Well...it may have something to do-" Fred starts.

"-with a certain young friend of ours-"

"-you know, a green-eyed Tri-Wizard Tournament Champion-"

"-and winner!" they say together, Fred giving me a wiggle of his eyebrows, George sticking his toungue out at me.

"You know I don't see him like that anymore," I say with an eyeroll, "he's just a friend and always will be. Going out with Harry would be like going out with Ron or you two!" I make a face of pure disgust. Harry _has_ become like a brother to me. One that I get along with, at least. I decided a long time ago that it was simple fandom and Stock-hold syndrom from when he saved my life my first year. Once I realized that, everything between us was simple friendship and that's exactly how I prefer it. I didn't think they'd believe me, and George was about to protest, but Fred saw I was telling the truth and elbowed George in the side before he could say anything. For this, I was grateful because now Ron had a look of pure evil genius on his face and I didn't like it at all. Next thing I know, Ron's pulling me by the elbow back to his room, eager to spill what he probably thinks is a good idea, but, because it's Ron, it's only half-baked and probably stupid.

"Ginny! I have an idea!" he says, excitedly, and I'm still not liking the look on his face.

"What is it, Ron?" I say, wearily.

"Well, I'll fill you in on the details later, but it involves you getting Harry, and I get Hermione," he grins a wicked grin, and I step away from him, shaking my head.

"No, Ron. I do not want Harry and we are just friends. Neither of us wants to date the other, Ron! And can't you be not selfish for just five minutes to see that Harry and Hermione are perfect for eachother? Let them be happy, at least, especially if you refuse to be happy for them. You know, like a good, supportive, _best friend_ should?"

"You're choosing Hermione over me!" he stomps his foot like a twelve year old girl and I suppress a laugh.

"Oh, absolutely. She has at least a half a brain about this!" I say, my red-head temper getting to me. Seeing his livid, hurt face, however, I add, "I'm not choosing anybody over anyone else. Ronald, I'm just saying you shouldn't mess with this. Let them be! You go through with some evil plan to keep them apart and all you're going to do is lose your two best friends in the process. Think about it for a second. Harry, Hermione, and you all best friends until you die, or pull of a stunt that prevents Harry and Hermione from dating, possibly date Hermione for two months, break up, and she stops talking to you altogether as well. If you keep Hermione from Harry, he'll die in this war. You two are the biggest things keeping him alive right now, you know that? Don't mess up a good friendship for a two month fling! You remember what happened last time you and Harry argued and stopped being friends. Remember that was your fault then too! And what was it all about? Oh right, you were jealous of Harry...AGAIN!" I had started off angry, gotten calm, then gotten angry all over again near the end, but realization caught onto his features and so did a look of shame. I noticed he was no longer looking at me but instead looking at the doorway behind me, so I turn around to find a shocked-looking Hermione. Judging by her face, I'd bet just about anything that she'd heard at least 95% of what I'd said. Ron had a sheepish look on his face, which was turning as red as his hair while Hermione stood, looking at us with disbelief and...could it be grief? After a moment, Hermione spoke, choosing her words carefully and apparently deciding to ignore Ron and I's previous argument.

"It's Harry. He and his muggle cousin got attacked by two dementors near his home. Everyone's alright, well, no nothing's alright, but the dementors didn't get their souls," she's shaky.

"What do you mean, nothing's alright?"

"Harry's being charged with underage magic and careless magic infront of a muggle. Dumbledore's his defense, and Sirius and I researched. They can't convict him...if they believe him," she whispers this part. I glance at Ron and notice all traces of pain, anger, jealousy, and evil plots were long gone. I had gotten through to him and now I'm pretty sure Ron will let the couple realize things in their own time. Hopefully, though, Ron doesn't blame Harry for Hermione choosing to follow her heart for Harry. He's still not completely over it, though, because I can still see him flinch when Hermione sits down on the bed meant for Harry when he arrives and whispers a quiet, "oh poor Harry! I love you!"

Sorry, Pawsrule but work has pretty much dominated my time lately and when I get home, I'm usually brain-blocked and tired. However, like the entire story, this chapter is dedicated to you, my loyal reader :) I just want to thank you again! Your suggestions/comments/constructive criticism are always welcome. Oh, and don't worry, the OC will show up soon...Just be on the lookout!

There you have it, folks! It took a while, but I did it, I put another chapter up. Hope I didn't disappoint you! The faery and goblin on my shoulders are starved for reviews, so if you are just reading, please review! I NEED YOUR INPUT =) Happy goblin and Happy faery equals more chapters for you! I just hope that the site here will stop acting wonky!


	5. CONTEST! not a chapter

THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER...THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER...THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER

Okay, so I've been thinking, I saw a fanfic here in which people have made a youtube video for fanfictions, and I was ABSOLUTELY intrigued by the idea.

So here's the deal: I shall write/dedicate a story with a pairing of the winner's choice (of course this has to be a topic I can write about, so within reason) to whoever makes the best video for my fanfic "That's All I Ask Of You"

AN: Bonuses to anyone who makes a video of any of my other fanfics. Second Place and Third place shall be rewarded with chapter dedications.

AN: All applicants shall get honerable mentions. Just send a link to your uploaded video on Youtube in a comment of this story and I will PROMISE to watch them all. GOOD LUCK! Contest ends May 1st, 2011!


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